Nairobi News

Sports

Red-hot Kagere piles ‘insane’ statistics as Simba clinch Tanzania league


Simba SC were over the weekend crowned champions of the Tanzanian Premier League and former Gor Mahia striker Meddie Kagere has been undoubtedly one of their star players this season.

Kagere joined the Tanzanian champions in mid-2018 from K’Ogalo on a free transfer. Since then, he has played 87 games for Simba, scored 54 goals with 10 assists.

FAN FAVOURITE

But how did he settle in so fast and become a club and fan favourite?

According to Michael Mwebe, a Tanzanian football journalist and analyst, Kagere’s experience is his main strength.

“Kagere came with the experience of having played in three East African leagues – Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. I believe this could have helped him settle very quickly,” Mwebe told Nairobi News.


“He is also a very disciplined player who joined a winning team with good management – the transition was likely to be smooth,” he added.

Kagere’s scoring form also endeared him to the club fans.

TRANSFER RUMOURS

“He is a big name signing who hit the ground running, maintaining an uncanny knack of scoring on competition debuts; Kagame Cup, Community Shield, Tanzanian Premier League – he naturally became a fans darling even rivalling the flair players like Emmanuel Okwi and Cleotus Chama,” Mwebe said.

“Sometimes a foreign player’s success at Simba and Yanga can be greatly affected by the management at these two clubs. It is also about the timing – Kagere came into a Simba side enjoying stable management. They were hungry for more success after winning their first league title in five years. Everybody was in sync with the club’s vision outlined by the chairman Mo Dewji,” Mwebe added.

Kagere has recently been rumoured to be on his way out of the club but the management has dismissed this as mere bar talk.

It will however be interesting to see how the development pans out with a number of big African clubs eager to snatch him as well as some solid interest from several European clubs.